


Hopes and Dreams

by Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Study, Gen, So much angst, a whole lot of headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 14:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16704430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall/pseuds/Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall
Summary: Ralsei couldn’t bear to think of it as lying. It wasn’t lying, it was... guessing. Guessing and desperately hoping he was right.





	Hopes and Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Ralsei is my son why do I make him suffer. Anyway, this turned out a lot more condensed than I had hoped, but i wanted to get it out here so uhhh here you go. Maybe I’ll expand this into more Ralsei character study fics, who knows

It was a common known fact that souls disappeared when they lost their strength. In monsters, this occurred at the moment of death. The only exception was found in Boss Monsters, but even then the soul lasted no more than a minute or so after the body disintegrated. Only human souls, with their excessive amounts of determination, could maintain their strength without a living host. However, enough stress placed on a human soul could cause it to disappear as well. These facts were well established about the nature of souls.

However, a less discussed point about souls was that they did not simply fade away when they lost their strength. No, a weakened soul shattered, like a glass figurine hit with a hammer. Not much was known about what happened to the shattered remains of a soul. Did the shards fade away, or did they remain? Most researchers agreed with the idea that the remains of a soul became determination, used to create new souls and the enigmatic “save points”. It wasn’t a heavily researched topic, but the theory made sense nonetheless. The most interesting theory on the subject of soul shards was that they could easily travel across time and space. However, the scientist who proposed this theory soon found himself engrossed in other projects, before disappearing all together. How curious.

* * *

 

The boy awoke, light enveloping his vision. It quickly dissipated, and the boy started to take in his surroundings. He was collapsed on the ground. He winced as he tried to push himself upwards. The boy felt wounded and weak. However, what he saw filled him with so much awe he momentarily forgot his pain. In front of him stood a pillar of pure darkness. It bursted upwards, fluid and powerful. The boy could feel that this dark fountain was very important. But soon the boy realized he had more pressing matters to worry about.

_What am I doing here...? Who... am I?_

The boy’s eyes widened in panic. The revelation that he had no memories worried him greatly. So he thought and thought. He thought as hard as he could, trying to see if he could recall something, anything, about himself or his situation.

_R...A...L...S...E...I... Ral...sei? Ralsei?_

It sounded... right? It felt like a synonym for a word that didn’t mean exactly the same thing, but it was close enough. The boy, who’s name was apparently Ralsei, was glad that he could remember something. At least he had hope that his memories would return. Shakily getting to his feet, Ralsei set off to explore the place he found himself in.

* * *

 

After he recovered from... whatever had happened to him before he woke up, Ralsei earnestly explored the castle protecting the dark fountain. He quickly discovered that the place seemed totally abandoned. The nearby town was just as void of people. However, the castle was full of food and clothing and books. The books were Ralsei’s favorite. They shed some light on his current situation and gave him a way to pass the time all by himself. Through various journals and records, Ralsei learned that he was in a place called the Dark World. The castle had once belonged to one of the kings of the land. However, the kings had all been overthrown by one of their own. The books also told of a young prince, hidden away during the siege on the castle. The people of the kingdom hoped that the dark fountain would protect the prince, so that he could perserve the kingdom. At least, that’s what Ralsei gathered from the books. Ralsei wondered if he might be the dark prince. He did wake up next to the dark fountain, after all. Maybe the magic of the fountain had accidentally given him amnesia? Whatever the case, Ralsei liked to think he acted as the prince of the kingdom. After all, he was the only one left to look after it.

The castle’s history was not the only thing Ralsei found in the books. Ralsei also found a legend. A legend that told of three heroes who would save the world. A human, a monster, and a prince from the dark. Ralsei dreamed of being the prince in the legend. An adventure, friends... it all sounded so grand. Ralsei wanted it to come true. He needed it to come true. Maybe he didn’t look like most darkeners, but that could be easily fixed with a shadow spell. And then he waited, waiting for the day that he could become a hero of legend.

* * *

 

And finally, the day came. Two lighteners, a human and a monster, fell into the Dark World. Ralsei was thrilled! He recited his speech, so perfectly practiced, and told the lighteners the legend he held so dear. The human listened patiently, but the monster didn’t seem to care. Ralsei’s enthusiasm wavered slightly, but he tried his best to remain positive. Surely Susie would come around eventually. And Kris was so kind. They gave warm hugs and listened to Ralsei’s advice and promised to do their best to end conflicts nonviolently. They had everything Ralsei could want in a friend. The pair travelled through the Dark World, and Ralsei felt like he belonged. The prophecy was true. He was the dark prince.

It wasn’t until a tough enemy landed a particularly hard hit that Ralsei’s belief was shaken. While Kris was busy trying to placate the enemy, Ralsei took the time to examine the wound. It felt like his very soul had gone cold. Coming out of the cut was dust. One of the books that Ralsei had read while going through the entire palace library was a book on anatomy. It dated back to the time before the lighteners had left, so it included information on all three of the main races. Humans were made of flesh and red blood. Monsters were made of dust and magic. Darkeners were somewhere between the two, bleeding a dark, magical ichor. Ralsei, the prince of darkness, was not bleeding magic blood. He was bleeding dust, like a monster would.

Ralsei quickly casted healing magic on himself before Kris could notice. The wound closed, and Ralsei breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to dwell on what he saw. So maybe he had a monster’s anatomy. That didn’t change the fact that he was a prince of darkness, right? Ralsei tried to forget that he had no past, no subjects, and no kingdom to support that claim.

* * *

 

Ralsei learned that Lancer wasn’t really a bad guy. He was just a kid, and he was just as lonely as the rest of the heroes. Ralsei couldn’t say no to letting him join the group. Except now there were two princes of darkness, and Ralsei became nervous. Lancer could easily fulfill that part of the prophecy, couldn’t he? And where would that leave Ralsei? He would be nothing more than a fake. A sham. A tag-along. He never really was a hero in the first place. Ralsei shook those thoughts from his mind, and tried to focus on defeating the Spade King and sealing the dark fountain.

They finally reached the Spade King, and were quickly forced to fight. After the way he so callously threatened Lancer, it was clear Susie and Kris no longer cared about trying to spare him. But Ralsei was not as certain. Didn’t this go against everything the trio had tried to do up to this point? So when the king was kneeling in defeat, Ralsei thought that this was his chance. He could make an impact in the story. He could show mercy, and he could leave a postive mark on the Dark World. Ralsei healed the Spade King. The Spade King repayed that kindness by almost killing the entire party. Ralsei cursed himself. His friends were going to die, all because he wanted to be the hero.

Then Lancer came in, and everything was over. Lancer. Lancer, prince of darkness, had saved the day. Ralsei, prince of nothing, had nearly killed the heroes of the prophecy. Of course, he refused to make his friends worry. He apologized, of course, and the others accepted. After that, he put on a smile, and he bid his new friends farewell. He didn’t deserve them, anyway. Ralsei was shocked to see them come back to give a proper goodbye. He was grateful, though, and happy.

Ralsei took off his hat, and dropped the shadow spell he used to conceal his true form. Ralsei had real friends now. Friends whom he loved and trusted. Ralsei, who didn’t need to be a prince anymore, was happy.


End file.
